


This Too Shall Pass

by bitsori



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: (but not for each other), Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - After College/University, Ambiguous Relationships, Ambiguous/Open Ending, Friends With Benefits, Implied Sexual Content, M/M, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-12
Updated: 2020-09-12
Packaged: 2021-03-06 16:35:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,928
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26322004
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bitsori/pseuds/bitsori
Summary: The worst part is the way that Seungmin  always remembers everything – the rough caresses offset by light feather kisses, the low whispers and guttural moans – and at this point, he’d rather have the hangover of the century than these vivid images replaying in his head. He wonders if, despite all his pride and confidence, there’s a small part of him that secretly hates himself because Lee Minho is the last person he would choose to get involved with and yet here he is, another morning after, and he doesn’t even have the excuse of alcohol to fall back on this time around.Then again, he hasn’t had that excuse for a while now.(fkai'd unf*ck you if i could, AU)
Relationships: Han Jisung | Han & Lee Minho | Lee Know, Hwang Hyunjin/Seo Changbin, Kim Seungmin/Lee Minho | Lee Know, Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Comments: 54
Kudos: 270
Collections: our divorced couple °˖✧◝(⁰▿⁰)◜✧˖°





	This Too Shall Pass

**Author's Note:**

  * For [atemzug](https://archiveofourown.org/users/atemzug/gifts).



> Happy birthday **R**! Also: Merry Christmas, haha. This isn't exactly the story I originally envisioned when I thought up that fake fic for that meme a long time ago, but hey it's 2Min. Thanks for giving me another excuse to write this ship again, and I hope today is wonderful to you.
> 
> Thank you **J** for proofreading when I was running on negative braincells ♥

*⁎꙳

  
  
  


Seungmin stares at the cracks in the ceiling and decides that he has them almost memorised by now. 

This realisation makes him cringe; he even knows that a collection of cracks on the ceiling of Minho’s bedroom vaguely resembles a rough sketch of a rose if he squints, and it’s all because he has spent a few too many times in Minho’s bed.

_ Fuck, _ he thinks.

The worst part is the way that he always remembers everything – the rough caresses offset by light feather kisses, the low whispers and guttural moans – and at this point, he’d rather have the hangover of the century than these vivid images replaying in his head.

He wonders if, despite all his pride and confidence, there’s a small part of him that secretly hates himself because Lee Minho is the last person he would choose to get involved with and yet here he is, another morning after, and he doesn’t even have the excuse of alcohol to fall back on this time around.

Then again, he hasn’t had that excuse for a while now.

“Shut up Seungmin,” Minho berates him suddenly, half asleep with his voice muffled by his pillow.

“I wasn’t even saying anything,” he answers with a frown.

“I can practically  _ hear _ you thinking,” the older mutters, turning around so that he has his back to Seungmin.

“That’s ridiculous,” he huffs. “And impossible.”

Minho grunts and proceeds to pull his covers over his head. “It’s too early for this,” he grumbles. “If you insist on thinking so loudly, go and do it in the comfort of your own bedroom.”

Seungmin’s jaw tightens because there it is, Minho’s subtle way of kicking him out. 

“Fine.” Seungmin rolls his eyes and proceeds to pick up discarded clothes from the previous night after he slides out of bed. This is why he hates it when they end up at Minho’s place, except Minho lives alone in a studio apartment and Seungmin shares a two-bedroom with Felix, so go figure which option is more convenient when you happen to be sneaking around, having sex with one of your friends, without the rest of your friend group knowing.

He makes a mental note to remember when Felix is scheduled to be gone for a weekend or even just a night – and then he groans to himself, annoyed that he’s already thinking about  _ next time. _

  
  
  


On the train, while on his way home, Hyunjin calls him.

Tired and grumpy, Seungmin almost feels like rejecting the call, but his thumb seemingly moves on its own accord, swiping across the green button on his phone screen instead of the red; it’s not as if he really knows how to ignore his best friend anyway.

“Hey,” he answers, hoping that he sounds chipper than he feels.

“Good morning Seungminnie!”

Well his best friend certainly sounds a lot more chipper than Seungmin feels, at least.

“Hey, yeah, what's up?”

“Oh, did I wake you up?” Hyunjin asks, his voice lowered into a whisper because that's his way of dialing down his enthusiasm; it's cute in a very earnest Hyunjin way.

“No, I'm—ah,” Seungmin winces as the voiceover announcing the next station sounds off.

“Oh sorry, are you out?” Hyunjin is back to his normal voice now; not too perky but not too cautious either. 

“Uh—”  _ Shit, _ Seungmin thinks. He doesn't exactly have any reason to be taking the train this early in the day. “Yeah, I'm at the ministop down the road,” he blatantly lies. “Ran out of toothpaste.”

“Oh? I thought I heard—” Hyunjin sounds confused and probably rightfully so. Seungmin isn't the type to run out of toothpaste – or any other simple necessities. Not to mention him being at a convenience store doesn't exactly explain the train announcement. “Never mind,” Hyunjin gives up easily. “I was just calling to confirm lunch later—11:30, right?”

Seungmin sighs; he almost forgot about plans that he'd made with Hyunjin and his boyfriend, Changbin. He was supposed to help them pick out furniture for their new place, and in exchange they were going to treat him to his favorite restaurant for lunch.

He really needs to rethink his life choices because shopping with Hyunjin and Changbin is the last thing he wants to do on a weekend; then again he knows this is just another thing that falls under the category of being unable to say no to his best friend for anything.

“Yeah, 11:30,” he agrees; then he lets out a soft chuckle. “So I'll see you around noon or so—we both know Changbin-hyung will make you both late.”

“I—” Hyunjin laughs. “I can't even defend him on that. See you later, Seungmin!”

“Later, Hyunjin.”

There's a soft click heard through the line letting him know that Hyunjin has ended the call; right on time, fortunately, as the train doors slide open at the station where Seungmin is meant to get off.

He sighs to himself – he can already feel that it's going to be a long day.

  
  
  


It's only a little over two weeks later when he and Felix are on their way to Changbin and Hyunjin's small housewarming party that they run across Minho and Jisung in front of Changbin and Hyunjin's apartment building.

Seungmin easily spots Minho parking his car across the street, but he doesn't say anything initially, hoping that they won't have to all ride the elevator up together. Unfortunately for him, Felix notices them too and he stops in his tracks—even holding Seungmin's elbows so that he would do the same—to wait for them.

Seungmin's world is too small; he has been hanging out with all the same people since he started university and he wishes that wasn't the case because as Minho and Jisung walk over to join them, he finds that little get-togethers like this are starting to get increasingly awkward thanks to the little secret he shares with Minho.

Or maybe it's all in his head because Minho looks completely unbothered. More than that, whenever he looks at Seungmin, his gaze burns, and the corners of his lips subtly quirk up as if telling Seungmin that he knows a secret about him.

“Did you guys get them anything?” Jisung asks; Seungmin shrugs because he already got the couple a gift when they’d gone furniture shopping and he’d helped pay for their couch of choice.

“I got them gift cards,” Felix answers sheepishly. “Wasn’t sure what they need so I thought it’d be safer this way.”

Seungmin instinctively reaches over to rub his roommate’s back; he knows Felix agonised over getting Changbin and Hyunjin something so basic and impersonal because he’s the type who always tries to make gifts special and personal. Seungmin had needed to repeatedly assure him that being practical in this case is a good thing.

“Yeah—Minho-hyung and I figured it’d be better to just bring food,” Jisung prattles on. “We made sushi bake for everyone.”

Minho snorts and shakes his head, but he’s looking at Jisung with a certain fondness that prickles at something in Seungmin; it’s so different from the smug, knowing look that Minho always gives him.

Jisung entertains Felix with a story about how he and Minho prepared the food, while Minho leans back. Seungmin remains quiet, only to be surprised when he realises that Minho is suddenly standing so close, elbowing him to get his attention.

“Why so serious?” Minho asks, flashing him an infuriatingly cheeky grin.

“I’m not,” he argues; he wonders why this elevator ride feels so fucking long. A look at the floor indicator shows they’re only just passing the fourth floor, when their friends live on the 6th. “Did Jisung really help you cook?” He decides to ask, just so he can avoid whatever it is Minho is trying to make him say.

“Hey!” Jisung interjects upon clearly having heard them; unsurprisingly he's looking mildly affronted.

Minho laughs. “He chopped some cucumbers,” he explains. “And he split the cost of the wine,” he adds, holding up the bottle he’s carrying. 

“I washed the dishes too,” Jisung adds, and as the elevator doors open on the right floor, they all burst into collective laughter.

  
  
  


The party is nice and chill; Changbin has always been great at playing host because he loves being in the spotlight. He cracks jokes all night long, regaling all the guests with funny anecdotes while Hyunjin helps set the mood with his laughter. Wine flows freely through the night, and it feels a little fancy if you ask Seungmin, but he supposes that comes with all of them playing into adulthood.

Despite his earlier musings about his world being too small, the truth is that 9 times out of 10, he wouldn’t choose to change anything about it. He loves his friends, and now that most of them have graduated while he’s personally busy trying to earn his law degree, they really don’t see each other enough. So he allows himself to loosen up, and by the end of the evening he’s more than a little buzzed thanks to all the alcohol he’s consumed.

“I can drop you guys off,” he overhears Minho telling Felix, and it doesn’t occur to him that by ‘you guys,’ Minho means Felix and  _ him. _

“Oh—I promised I’d go and help Jeongin set up his gaming computer,” Felix explains, and Seungmin  _ does _ have a vague recollection of his roommate letting him know about this earlier in the day. “Chan’s driving us since they live in the same building, but—” Felix laughs, low and throaty, and then Seungmin feels his small hand clap him on the shoulder, “—you could take Seungmin home. Better than calling him a cab.” 

“I’m not  _ that _ drunk,” Seungmin points out; he’s sure he can take himself home just fine.

“Yeah, but a free ride with Minho is still better than any sort of public transportation, especially this late,” Jisung points out, and of course  _ he _ would say that. The passenger seat of Minho's Kia probably has his name secretly embossed on it by now.

Seungmin doesn’t really protest any more though, because they’re all right, and the next thing he knows is that he’s in the backseat of Minho’s car, listening to Minho and Jisung banter about which is better between tuna sushi and salmon sushi.

He doesn’t get it, so he doesn’t join in – it’s no surprise anyway, that’s just how Minho and Jisung are. They have their own world sometimes, one that’s hard to break into and everyone in their friend group has long ago learned that it’s pointless to even attempt to.

It surprises Seungmin when he realises that they’re dropping Jisung off first, but maybe it shouldn’t have because it makes more sense route wise; he moves to take the passenger seat after Jisung is gone and the rest of the ride is spent in weirdly pregnant silence.

Minho doesn’t even say anything after he pulls up and parks across the street from Seungmin’s building. He turns to look at Seungmin, head tilted to one side and it’s obvious that they’re both very aware of what he’s waiting for. 

“Well,” Seungmin inhales deeply; he should just get off, say thank you and good night. “Felix did say he isn’t coming home tonight,” is what he says instead and they both know exactly what he means by that.

  
  
  


Seungmin knows Minho’s body really well now. 

His hands have the planes and contours of Minho’s memorised, and his lips—his  _ tongue _ is familiar with Minho’s taste. Seungmin doesn’t know he feels about these simple facts, but he does know better than to think about it too much when Minho knows him just as well—which means Minho knows exactly how to make him feel good.

Seungmin has known Minho since he was twenty-two and he had just entered university. Hyunjin had been the one to introduce them to each other after he met Minho during orientation for his degree major; one could say they became friendly but the two of them never really gravitated towards each other past the fact that they had Hyunjin in common, not even after they eventually found themselves in the same growing friend group. They didn’t  _ not _ get along, but they were mutually aware that they certainly would never choose to hang out with each other without the rest of their friends around.

Several months ago, right around when Seungmin was starting law school, he had gone out drinking with his new classmates – he didn’t particularly want to, but he didn’t want to be some kind of wet blanket so he allowed himself to be dragged along. It turned out that by ‘drinking out’ his classmates had actually meant a group matchmaking situation—and the other group turned out to be a handful of junior executives at the architecture firm that Minho works at.

_ Surprise, _ he had thought. 

Minho was charming and personable, very much unlike the Minho he knew—the Minho who always seemed to care about animals or even inanimate objects more than he did about what his supposed friends were going through. That night, however, Minho knew all the right questions to ask, and was an expert at appearing just the right amount of interested; a couple of Seungmin’s female law school classmates were all over him that it almost made Seungmin snort, knowing that none of them really fell under Minho's type.

He spent most of that night talking to a woman from Minho’s firm, but at the end of it Minho had offered to drive him home and he found himself quickly agreeing – he was tipsy and buzzed, and the last thing he wanted to do was to have to elaborate on his sexuality with a woman whom he couldn’t be sure was sexually interested in him or not.

Minho, as his long time friend, was supposed to be his easy and uncomplicated way out.

Joke’s on him because agreeing to go home with Minho that night turned out to be his way into something else entirely that he hadn’t anticipated.

And now he knows Minho all too well in ways that he sometimes wishes he didn't.

  
  
  


“You should go soon,” Seungmin murmurs softly.

The two of them are just laying in bed together, still naked even though Seungmin at least has the decency to keep himself covered with blankets. Minho refuses to grant him the same consideration – then again, it’s probably absurd to expect as much when they’ve done the naked horizontal dance far too many times for him to count.

“Wow.” Minho chortles; there’s no hint of derision on his tone at all. “I always let you stay until the morning.”

“You have a car,” Seungmin points out. “I don’t. And I have a roommate—you don’t.”

“A roommate that isn’t coming home tonight,” Minho responds, but he does get up so he can start picking his clothes up and dressing himself again. 

Seungmin sits up and watches him; the lights are out but the moon is bright and round, illuminating Minho through the window at just the perfect angle.

“I’m hungry,” Minho announces as he pulls up his pants. “Sex always makes me hungry.”

Seungmin is very much aware of this; at his place, Minho always has a stash of snacks ready for consumption. Sometimes, whenever he has a particular craving he’d even order delivery.

“Fridge is empty,” Seungmin says. “I meant to go grocery shopping tomorrow.”

“There’s a GS25 down the street, right?” Minho confirms as his head pops out of his t-shirt as he puts it on. “Come on,” he beckons at Seungmin who looks at him with confusion. “My treat.”

Seungmin snorts; as if he’s easily taken in by such silly bribes. Nevertheless, he kicks the blankets off himself and stands up so he can get dressed as well. 

“It’s not because you’re treating,” he feels the need to petulantly clarify; sex always makes him hungry too – at least it has ever since he started having it with Minho.

Minho only laughs at him.

  
  
  


“Why do we do this?” Seungmin blurts out over hot instant ramyeon.

Minho looks up at him, and Seungmin almost laughs because he looks quite comical, eyes wide and halfway through slurping down a mouthful of noodles. In a quick second, his expression relaxes though, and he’s careful as he bites off what he can of the noodles, chewing and swallowing before he answers Seungmin.

“Why do we do what?”

Seungmin gives him a pointed look. “You know what,” he answers. “This,” he gestures between the two of them.  _ “Us.” _

“What is this?” Minho asks back. He’s being obtuse, and it’s grating on Seungmin’s nerves. “What is  _ us?” _

Seungmin rolls his eyes and looks back down at his half-eaten ramyeon, grip tightening on his disposable chopsticks as he does his best not to start stabbing at food as he’s tempted to do. “Never mind.”

No one else is in the convenience store apart from them and the employee behind the counter who seems quite preoccupied with his phone, and there’s nothing but silence for several seconds unless you count the faint sound of the two of them slurping ramyeon broth.

And then Minho lets out a soft chuckle. “It’s because we both have hang-ups, and sex is a way to release tension and relax,” he offers quietly. “It’s because this is how you cope with the fact that the person you’re in love with is in love with your best friend.”

Seungmin almost chokes on soggy noodles. “What?”

Minho laughs, his eyes crinkling at the corners and sparkling in an annoyingly mischievous manner. Like he’s reveling in the way he completely caught Seungmin off guard – knowing what he knows about Minho, that’s probably exactly it.

What actually surprises Seungmin is that Minho has gotten it right in a way that no one else has—everyone has always assumed that he’s secretly carried a torch for Hyunjin.

They’ve known each other since 5th grade, so surely Seungmin is secretly in love with his incredibly sweet, incredibly pretty, incredibly popular best friend, right?

_ Wrong. _

Seungmin first met Changbin at the tail end of his freshman year at university; he had joined the school paper as a photographer, and he had been assigned to work with Changbin who was writing an article conceptualising the relationship between Korean youth and the growing local underground music scene. 

They hadn’t exactly hit it off immediately; if anything Seungmin had not known what to make of Changbin. He was friendly, but noisy; driven, yet always late whenever they arranged to meet for work; he seemed intimidating, but he cracked the silliest jokes. Somehow by the end of the term Changbin won him over; Seungmin always jests that he got run down by the older guy’s corny jokes, but the truth was that he’d been taken in by his sweetness and kindness—and his incredibly warm heart.

And then he introduced Changbin to Hyunjin, and whatever budding feelings Seungmin had for him needed to be quashed, because just like everyone else, the moment Changbin set eyes on his best friend he had fallen in love – the only difference was that unlike everyone else who had succumbed to Hyunjin’s charms, Changbin had exactly what it took to make Hyunjin fall for him right back. 

Seungmin always thinks that he probably should have seen that coming.

“I don’t know what you’re saying,” Seungmin argues, but his denial seems pretty moot as he chokes and coughs on his ramyeon.  _ “Fuck,” _ he hisses, and Minho just chuckles, eyes reflecting amusement as he hands him a bottle of water.

“Of course you know what I’m saying Seungmin,” Minho says calmly as Seungmin downs the contents of the water bottle, using a tone that makes it hard for Seungmin to deny what he’s saying.

Even Changbin assumed that Seungmin had feelings for Hyunjin.

“Is it okay?” he’d even asked Seungmin. “If I was to ask Hyunjin out—would you be fine with that?”

“Why wouldn’t I be?” Seungmin answered, even though his stomach had been churning uncomfortably throughout the entire conversation.

“Because, well—you. And Hyunjinnie,” Changbin pointed out,

Seungmin scoffed at him. “We’re best friends. Which is how I know he’d say yes if you were to ask him out, so go for it, hyung.”

There was still some uncertainty in Changbin’s eyes, but Seungmin had smiled to assure him, and the way his expression lit up – Seungmin likes to think that alone had been worth giving them his silent blessing.

So—case in point: even Changbin had assumed Seungmin was in love with Hyunjin; that was what everyone around him tended to think, and Seungmin has pretty much given up on correcting them all. Yet somehow, Lee Minho, of all people—Lee Minho who never seemed like he cared enough to read the people around him, figured out something about him that no one, not even Hyunjin who he has known a very long time, has. 

  
  
  


Hyunjin used to have a big, fat crush on Minho; Seungmin is pretty sure that Minho is aware of as much, but he has never really voiced it out. Seungmin had been on the receiving end of Hyunjin’s lamentations about “Minho-sunbaenim” who was funny and good looking but also extremely frustrating; Hyunjin was used to being the apple of everyone’s eye, and even though he has never been the type to exploit that, he also wasn’t used to  _ not _ getting attention from people he wanted attention from. 

He wonders what Hyunjin would think now if he knew how much  _ closer _ Seungmin and Minho have gotten; just wondering about it makes something tighten in his stomach. And then he mentally slaps himself because why is he thinking about Minho  _ again? _

The universe must hate him though, because just as he consciously pushes away all thoughts of Minho, he thinks he catches a glimpse of him in a boutique that he passes by.

Initially, he assumes that his eyes are playing tricks at him, but when he pauses to squint past the glass windows, their eyes meet and he feels compelled to greet the older. Against his better judgment, he walks inside and he nods at Minho in greeting.

“What are you doing here?”

Before the other man can answer, Jisung emerges from one of the aisles;  _ of course  _ Jisung is there. 

“Seungmin, hey! What are you doing here?”

Minho laughs and Seungmin rolls his eyes. “I just asked Minho-hyung the same thing.”

“I’m keeping Jisung company,” Minho finally answers.

“He’s helping me find a gift for Lia,” Jisung explains, the widening grin on his face undeniable. He looks so proud and happy in such a pure and genuine manner that Seungmin can’t really bring himself to clown him like he usually would. Word from their friend group grapevine is that Lia – who they all also knew from university, and who Jisung has had a massive crush on since their second year – had finally agreed to go on a proper date with Jisung.

Seungmin glances at Minho; his smile is tighter, and there’s a certain expression in his eyes that’s hard to read but Seungmin thinks he understands because right here—right here is the reason why Minho needs as much of a release outlet as Seungmin does. 

“So do I get her this,” Jisung is asking them both now as he holds up a blue and purple patterned knit scarf with one hand, “or this?” he continues, showing them a pair of sky blue mittens. “It’s getting colder, and we’re going to a concert—so I thought it would be a nice gesture if I make sure that she’s warm right?”

Minho snorts, but he lightly taps on the mittens. “This is her favorite color, isn’t it?” he says. “Get these.”

Jisung glances at Seungmin as if expecting him to offer his judgment as well, but he just shrugs. “Whatever I say you’ll go with Minho-hyung’s choice anyway,” he says.

Jisung laughs, not even making any attempt to deny Seungmin’s words; it’s long been accepted between their entire friend group that Minho and Jisung are a unit of their own—they understand each other in ways that no one else does, to the point that Jisung has jokingly referred to Minho as his soulmate more than a few times.

Now that Seungmin thinks about it, he doesn’t think he’s ever heard Minho return the sentiment—but he supposes any kind of acknowledgment would make it harder to accept that Jisung has only ever expressed romantic interest in girls the entire time they have known each other.

_ What an idiot, _ Seungmin would love to say – but he supposes he’s as much of a fool in his own way.

  
  


“I think it's time we stop,” Minho tells him one afternoon.

They’re at Seungmin’s apartment because Minho had stopped by to return Seungmin’s sweater that he had left at Minho’s a couple of nights ago – if you ask Seungmin if he had left it on purpose so he could nag Minho about returning it to him, he frankly wouldn’t know how to answer.

There's barely any preamble, nary any mention of context but Seungmin understands what he means. Strangely enough, their confusing arrangement, if one can even call it that, has allowed Seungmin to understand Minho so much more than he ever has in the four years he had known him prior.

“Look,” he begins.

_ Look, I get it,  _ is what he means to reply with.  _ I get it and I agree.  _ This kind of undefined relationship that came about from avoiding their hang ups over other people is toxic; they're both just stagnant and wallowing now. They both deserve to end it and actually move on.

But Seungmin suddenly feels annoyed, because wow. Because  _ fuck. _ How dare Minho just  _ drop _ him? Minho doesn't get to do that.

So without thinking about it too much, he allows instinct to take over, and the next thing he knows is that he's grabbing Minho by the collar and roughly pulling the older man towards himself until their lips crash together. It's sudden, and sloppy and Seungmin practically snarls into Minho's mouth. His teeth dig into his bottom lip, and when Minho gasps in surprise—and Seungmin isn't even going to deny that getting one up on Minho feels satisfying—he uses that initially to lock into his mouth; as usual, Minho is quick to pick up and regain composure. He moans, but he pushes back, his own tongue twisting expertly around Seungmin's and  _ God, _ Seungmin would be lying if he says that he doesn't enjoy this rough kind of push and pull with Minho.

Minho's arms wrap around the small of his back, pulling him closer—pulling their bodies flush against each other. His hands slide down to the barely there curve of Seungmin's buttocks, and Seungmin uses his grip as leverage, jumping on Minho and legs wrapping around him; he might be taller, but Minho is built more sturdily.

“What if Felix Yongbok comes home?” Minho asks, and Seungmin laughs against his skin—right at the crook of his neck where he’d been busy planting kisses—busy planting faint marks—just a split second ago. He wants to ask why Minho is so intent on using his roommate’s English and Korean names together  _ all the time, _ but he supposes this isn’t really the time to bring that up.

Also: it’s really attractive how Minho manages to keep his hold on Seungmin very steady and— 

“Just take me to my room,” he whispers, low and needy, directly into Minho’s ear; it’s even more attractive how the latter is quick to follow despite the choked up laughter his throat releases.

It doesn’t take long before they’re in Seungmin’s room, slamming the door after them and discarding each other's clothes; Seungmin is on his bed, Minho above him and everything feels  _ fucking  _ good.

Sex between them has never been quite like this before – it’s never been this rough, this needy, this…  _ carnal, _ if Seungmin really has to choose a word. Almost as if the two of them are determined to fuck each other out of their systems—which he supposes makes sense for what it really is.

One for the road.

“Now we can stop,” Seungmin tells Minho right after they’re done; both of them are still panting, and Minho has literally just rolled off him.

It’s no surprise that Minho’s initial response is to laugh at him despite still being breathless. “You really always need to have the last word, don’t you?”

Seungmin remains quiet; he thinks maybe that’s true, and it dawns on him just how well Minho really knows him—knows his entire being now, past just his body.

In a strange way, it’s actually been quite nice to have someone like that in his life.

Minho slides off the bed and Seungmin sits up; this time he doesn’t bother covering his naked body like he always does after sex. He watches as Minho looks for his clothes, and as he starts dressing himself again, Seungmin allows himself to admire Minho’s beauty.

Minho catches him looking after he finishes buttoning his shirt, and for once Seungmin boldly meets his gaze without flinching. The older male smiles and it almost looks like he’s about to laugh.

Instead, he walks over to the bed once more; Seungmin isn’t the least bit surprised when Minho leans in and presses their lips together.

The kiss is soft, sweet, lingering.  _ Warm, _ almost.

“See you around, Seungmin.”

++

**Author's Note:**

> As usual, feedback is greatly appreciated, and I'm grateful if you made it through this story to the end. I hope it was enjoyed! Questions, comments and screaming about SKZ is always welcome over at my [CC inbox](http://curiouscat.me/yiminho).


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